Asian Tech Press (Aug 16) -- Apple's next-generation smartphone, the iPhone 15, has been in production at a Foxconn plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Apple supplier Foxconn's plant in Sriperumbudur is preparing to deliver the latest iPhone just weeks after Chinese factories start shipping the device, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

In addition to Foxconn, Apple's other Taiwanese suppliers in India, including Pegatron Corp. and a Wistron Corp. plant being acquired by India's Tata Group, will also assemble the iPhone 15 soon, the people said.

Amid efforts to diversify its supply chain pushed by Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, the U.S. tech giant has begun shifting more iPhone production from China to India.

Apple is aiming to keep the timing of shipments in India and China closer together this year, the sources said, although suppliers aren't sure they'll be able to achieve that.

The production scale of the iPhone 15 in India will depend on the availability of components, which rely heavily on imports, and whether the production line at Foxconn's Sriperumbudur factory can smoothly ramp up.

The new iPhone, likely to be released on September 12, is expected to be the biggest update to Apple's flagship smartphone in three years.

It is said that the iPhone 15 will include major upgrades to the camera system across the range, and the Pro model will come with an improved 3nm A16 processor.